Carefully read these Instructions and the instructions in the Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections. You must also read the “FAQs for Current Applicants” before completing the Portfolio.
You must be a current BU undergraduate student or an alumnus who has received a bachelor’s degree from BU and be applying to enter professional school in the fall of 2025 to submit the Portfolio.
2025 Applicants:
Enroll in our Pre-Health 101 Blackboard site. Go to the 2025 Cycle Applicants page found in the Pre-Health 101 Blackboard site and complete the 2025 Application Module to get access to the Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections. You can find more information about the 2025 Application Module here.
2024 Applicants:
If you were a 2023 applicant to health profession school and missed the 2024 portfolio deadline, please email preprof@bu.edu with your name, BU ID, and confirmation that you were a 2023 applicant to receive access to the 2024 Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections.
The Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections (PAR) will provide applicants with an excellent opportunity to thoughtfully reflect upon their accomplishments and organize much of the material required for primary applications. It will provide pre-health advisors with important information that will help them assess individuals’ preparedness for the application process and their personal statements.
Before completing the Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections, you may find it useful to use our Reflection Template as a guide to help you thoughtfully convey your narrative.
Deadlines
In order to qualify for the following, the completed PAR must be received by January 3, 2024 5:00pm ET. Individuals who wish to qualify for an early comprehensive advising appointment in December or January must submit a Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections by December 15, 2023 5:00pm ET (optional early deadline). A limited amount of early comprehensive advising appointments will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
- An hour-long comprehensive advising appointment (CAA). The CAA is an opportunity for you and a pre-health advisor to discuss your achievements in and out of the classroom and help you assess your preparedness for the application process.
- Attend the interview workshop series co-hosted by the Center for Career Development during the summer.
- The opportunity to request that the Preprofessional Advising Office submit a packet of letters of recommendation to certain central application services.
All letters of recommendation to be included in a Letter Packet must be received by the Preprofessional Advising Office by June 7, 2024 11:59pm ET.
It is your responsibility to be sure that your completed PAR is submitted and received by the Preprofessional Advising Office on or before the stated deadline. The deadline for the submission of the PAR is firm! Only individuals who have submitted an application(s) to enter health profession school in the fall of 2024 may request to waive the deadline.
Personal Data
Provide the identifying information requested in the PAR. It is critical that you inform the Preprofessional Advising Office of any changes to your contact information to ensure that you receive updated information about the application process during the spring and summer.
Academic Summary
If you have not yet taken the MCAT, DAT, GRE, or other required standardized test(s), indicate the month during which you intend to take the standardized test. Please be sure to release your scores to the Preprofessional Advising Office when you register for the exam and submit the required standardized test scores to us as soon as they become available.
Sections A - F
Individuals who are current 2024 applicants to health profession school or who have previously applied to health profession school may choose to upload ONE .pdf file of their previous verified health profession school application in lieu of submitting a .pdf file of sections (a)-(f) of the Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections. If you choose not to upload a .pdf of your previous application, then you MUST complete sections (a)-(f) of the Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections in the required format.
If you applied to multiple application services (example: AMCAS, AACOMAS, TMDSAS), please only choose ONE application to upload.
Your description and reflection for each activity must not exceed 700 characters combined.
If you’re applying to allopathic medical schools through AMCAS, please designate your 3 most meaningful experiences in your activity section. You should state “most meaningful” after listing your position title. For your 3 most meaningful experiences, in addition to the 700 characters for the experience description, you have an additional 1325 characters for your most meaningful experience remarks. Your description and reflection must not exceed these character limits and you may only designate 3 of your activities as “most meaningful.”
A. Honors
In chronological order (newest to oldest), list any honors you received. Include the date and the accomplishments for which you were honored. Do not include honors you received in high school.
B. Employment
Beginning with the summer before college, in chronological order (newest to oldest), list your paid employment positions (excluding clinical and research experiences). Include the dates (months and years) during which you were employed, describe your role and responsibilities within each organization, and include thoughtful reflections of your experiences.
C. School-Related Extracurricular Activities
In chronological order (newest to oldest), list your school-related extracurricular activities (clubs, projects, community service, positions in student government, student organizations, committees, etc.). Describe your role in each organization (e.g. if you list a community service program, state what you did in the program), and include thoughtful reflections of your experiences.
D. Non-School-Related Extracurricular Activities
In chronological order (newest to oldest), list your non-school-related extracurricular activities (social, fraternal, religious, community, political organization, etc.). Describe your role in each organization, and include thoughtful reflections of your experiences.
E. Clinical Experiences
In chronological order (newest to oldest), list any clinical experiences you have had in the medical, dental, veterinary, or other fields. Describe your responsibilities and accomplishments for each experience, and include thoughtful reflections of your experiences. Indicate whether these positions are paid or volunteer.
F. Research Experiences
In chronological order (newest to oldest), list any research experiences you have had. Explain the goals of the research and the responsibilities assigned to you. Indicate whether these positions are paid or volunteer, and include thoughtful reflections of your experiences.
Institutional Action
As part of the application process to health profession schools, you are required to report any institutional action resulting from unacceptable academic performance or conduct violations. For example, the AMCAS application has previously asked, “Were you ever the recipient of any institutional action by any college or medical school for unacceptable academic performance or conduct violation, even though such action may not have interrupted your enrollment or required you to withdraw?” And it further states, “You must answer ‘Yes’ even if the action does not appear on or has been deleted or expunged from your official transcripts due to institutional policy or personal petition.”
If you were the recipient of any institutional action by Boston University for a conduct violation, you must submit a sanction letter from the Office of Judicial Affairs to the Preprofessional Advising Office. Allow sufficient time (2-3 weeks) to receive the letter, so you can upload it to your Portfolio. To submit a request for a sanction letter, complete a Judicial Affairs Records Release Form and a copy of a photo ID to Judicial Affairs judws@bu.edu. If you do not receive the letter in time to upload it, you may submit the letter directly to the Preprofessional Advising Office.
If you were the recipient of any institutional action by Boston University for a violation of the Academic Conduct Code or unacceptable academic performance leading to a grade penalty, probation, suspension, or expulsion, you must submit documentation from your school/college to the Preprofessional Advising Office. Allow sufficient time (2-3 weeks) to receive the letter, so you can upload it to your Portfolio. If you do not receive the letter in time to upload it, you may submit the letter directly to the Preprofessional Advising Office.
In addition, we strongly encourage you to meet with a pre-health advisor to discuss any institutional actions you may have incurred, even if you consider them to be minor violations. If you do not have anything to report in this section, you must indicate “Not Applicable.”
Felonies and Misdemeanors
Please disclose and explain any felonies or misdemeanors that may appear on your record. If you do not have anything to report in this section, you must indicate “Not Applicable.”
Personal Statement
Submit a personal statement no greater than 5,300 characters (including spaces and punctuation). If you previously submitted a portfolio and/or applied to health profession school and chose to upload a copy of a previously verified health profession school application, you still must submit an UPDATED version of your personal statement. You may use the prompts in the Portfolio as a guide.
Please be aware that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law, requires that the Preprofessional Advising Office report to the University’s Title IX Coordinator any form of sexual misconduct that advisors learn about through discussion with or from written material provided by students who have been targets of sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct includes, but is not limited to, incidents of rape, sexual assault, coercion, harassment, domestic and dating violence, and stalking.
NOTE: Your personal statement for the centralized application service (e.g. AMCAS, AACOMAS, AADSAS, CASPA, NursingCAS, OPTOMCAS, VMCAS) will likely be a blending of the personal and autobiographical statements in your Portfolio.
Additional Information
Academic Information: Provide an explanation of any significant fluctuations in your academic record.
Breaks in Education: Other than vacation breaks, has your education been continuous (e.g. have you taken a leave of absence, gap year, etc.)? If it has not been continuous, please describe what you have done during your time away from school.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted you?
Each question may be no greater than 1,000 characters (including spaces and punctuation).
Transcripts
Upload unofficial transcripts from Boston University and all other institutions at which you have taken college courses (even if the credits have been transferred to Boston University or the courses were taken as part of a high school program). You do not need to submit official copies of your transcripts. You may download an unofficial copy of your Boston University transcript by following the prompts in the “Transcript Preview and Ordering” section on the Student Link (be sure that your name appears at the top of the transcript). If you do not have access to unofficial transcripts from other institutions and must order official transcripts, allow sufficient time (3-5 weeks) to receive the transcripts and to upload them to your Portfolio. If you do not receive any outside transcripts in time to upload them to your Portfolio, you may submit them directly to the Preprofessional Advising Office.
Science GPA Calculator
Download and follow the instructions for our GPA calculator. Complete the GPA calculator for the appropriate central application service(s) and then upload your GPA calculator excel spreadsheet to your Portfolio.
Letters of Recommendation
In order to qualify for a Letter Packet, applicants must submit their completed Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections by January 3, 2024 5:00pm ET.
All letters of recommendation to be included in a Letter Packet must be received by June 7, 2024 11:59pm ET.
You may find more information on selecting individuals to write your letters of recommendation here.
Signature
The PAR must be signed electronically before submitting it to the Preprofessional Advising Office.